Review: 15 Thoughts On Drake’s OVO Fest

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Last night (Aug. 5) Drake threw Toronto’s grandest annual celebration, OVO Fest, eclipsing the already sky-high bar set by the previous three years. Here’s what we learned from Drizzy’s mega concert

1. It didn’t matter that Drake’s fourth annual OVO Fest was chopped from a two-day event to a one-night blowout at the lakeside Molson Canadian Amphitheatre due to Frank Ocean’s tearing a vocal chord. A whole week of concerts got packed into one.

2. Checking Twitter minutes before Drake takes the stage for OVO Fest is peeling back a corner of the wrapping paper a week before Christmas or demanding to know the ultrasound results. You’re better off painting the room yellow and letting the surprise hit you in the moment.

3. For on a night filled with surprise rap and R&B heroes past and present running onstage—13 acts in total, for those scoring at home—the one constant was the embrace they all gave Drizzy as they exited stage left, making space for the next jolt of energy, the next rumor-squashing collaboration or glittery reunion.

4. When TLC’s Chilli forgot to hug the host after she and T-Boz moved the capacity crowd to “Waterfalls” and “No Scrubs,” Drake joked that he’d have to steal a squeeze backstage later. On cue, the 42-year-old ‘C’ of TLC sprinted back to centerstage and leapt into Drake’s arms, wrapping her legs around his waist, her bare—and tight—midriff pressed into the local boy’s face.